Brockport blows out St. John Fisher for Courage Bowl XIV

by Paul Cifonelli - Staff Writer

Tue, Oct 2nd 2018 10:00 pm

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Senior offensive lineman, John Demy picks up sophomore wide reciever, Alex Benson after scoring a touchdown. The Golden Eagles crushed St. John Fisher in the 2018 Courage Bowl, 49-7. Brockport travels to Hartwick on Saturday, Oct. 6 to take on the 2—2 Hartwick Hawks.

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It seems as though The College at Brockport football team plays the same game every week. Just looking back at this season, the team has won its games by an average score of 46-8. Three times the offense has put up 49 or more points. The defense has held opposing teams to seven points in three of the four games. Brockport has been rolling through opponents and Courage Bowl XIV was no different.

The first score of the game came on an interception by Brockport senior, Matt Arita in the first quarter that he returned for a touchdown. The interception came at a very opportune time for the Golden Eagles, as St. John Fisher had already run eight plays and gotten to Brockport’s 28-yard line. It appeared as though the Cardinals were going to strike first until the Cardinal’s quarterback, Joshua Michels, had his pass tipped into Arita’s hands.

On the very next drive, Michels was picked off by senior, Matt Szymanski. While Szymanski did not take it to the house himself, the offense finished it off for him. Brockport took over at St. John Fisher’s 31-yard line and scored a touchdown six plays later. Quarterback, Joe Germinerio connected with junior, Joseph Ortiz for the score. From there, it was smooth sailing for the Golden Eagles.

Germinerio finished the game with 192 yards passing with two touchdowns and an interception. Sophomore, Tyree Brown was the other wide receiver to receive a Germinerio touchdown pass.

Freshman running back, Joe Benedict led the way yet again with 16 carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Two other freshman running backs also got some game time as Zach Samborski ran the ball 10 times for 48 yards and Jala Coad ran for a touchdown.

Once again, the defense was tremendous. While St. John Fisher put together possibly the best offensive attack against Brockport this season, it still was not even close to enough.

The 231 total offensive yards the Cardinals had fought for was the most any team has gained against the Brockport unit this season.

However, no matter what the Cardinals did, scoring against the Golden Eagle defense seemed nearly impossible.

St. John Fisher’s punter, Michael Burton was forced to come onto the field 10 times during the game. One of the few times the Cardinals did get a scoring chance the team could not not convert.

Senior Austin Dean, took care of that after he blocked the 31-yard field goal attempt by St. John Fisher in the first quarter.

It took until the fourth quarter for St. John Fisher to break through. The Cardinals scored when third-string quarterback Alejandro Utset completed a 75-yard touchdown pass to a Cardinal wide receiver, Cam Cleveland.

Utset was in the game due to injuries to Michels and backup quarterback, Jake Thompson. Thompson was stretchered off the field in the third quarter due to an apparent head injury. No additional information was provided about Thompson’s condition after the game.

Despite the late score, Brockport’s defense put on another great showing. The interceptions helped spark the offense and support the defense in maintaining the lead. Senior safety, Jake O’Connell expects nothing less of Brockport’s defense.

“We do what we do every week,” O’Connell said. We stop the run and then they try to test us in the pass coverage and it never works.”

The pass rush was just as effective during the game. The defense recorded eight sacks on the night, which doubles the previous season high. Sophomore defensive lineman, Josh Greenwood recorded 1.5 sacks during the game, which were his first sacks since the Ithaca game in early September. He relished in his opportunity to return to the backfield and put perpetual pressure on the quarterback.

“Just going back to the basics. Trying to work the techniques we work on and everything,” Greenwood said.

The defense looks to continue its hot streak headed into the upcoming part of the schedule. The Golden Eagles have two consecutive road games up next on the schedule. On Saturday, Oct. 6, Brockport heads to Oneonta, NY to take on Hartwick. The following weekend Brockport travels to Alfred to conclude the road trip.